8-man football: Mid Peninsula fighting to save season

PERKINS – A group of concerned athletes, parents and school administrators are making every effort to save the 2013 football season at Mid Peninsula High School.

A special football meeting was held Wednesday evening at the high school multi-purpose room.

Numbers are a concern at the school. All athletes interested in playing football this season were asked to attend the meeting so board members such as sports liaison Bob VanDamme, principal Eric VanDamme, athletic director Gary Brayak and superintendent Mary Brayak, all whom were in attendance, could get an idea of where the team stands.

The Wednesday meeting drew 10 players and the general consensus was that was not enough to field an 8-man football team. There were different opinions on what the cutoff number would be in order to field a team.

Bob VanDamme mentioned at one point he was looking for 14-15 players to field a team and Mary Brayak stated it was simple math to have eight players on one side of the ball and eight on the other. A parent agreed that 16 players would be ideal to be able to run a full practice.

Some concerns were brought up over whether all interested Mid Peninsula students knew about the meeting. The meeting was advertised in the Daily Press and on the Mid Peninsula school website, but Gary Brayak acknowledged that not everyone gets the paper or checks the website.

Eric VanDamme offered to call every eligible player in grades 9-12 to check their interest in playing football.

Another issue brought up at the meeting was the coaching vacancy on the team after Jeremy Herman recently resigned.

Gary Brayak said if the team can get enough players, they will work diligently to get a coach in place and would call a special board meeting to confirm the new hire. Until that hire is made, Brayak offered to run practice, which was slated to begin at 6 p.m. on Monday.

Bob VanDamme stated he would like a decision made on the season by Friday.

Those present expressed a willingness to exhaust all options before canceling the season. Ultimately the decision on the season will be made by the school board.